What are the different parts of a skeleton?
Adult human skeletons have around 210 bones, which are typically divided up into two main parts, known as the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. In turn, these can be divided up into smaller groups of bones:
Axial skeleton:
- The head bones: the skull (the cranium, which protects the brain) and the facial bones, including the eye sockets, nose, cheekbones and jawbones).
- The torso bones: the spine and the rib cage, with the breastbone (sternum) and ribs.
Appendicular skeleton:
- The limb-connecting bones: the bones in the shoulder girdle (pectoral girdle) and the pelvic girdle, which connect the arm and leg bones to the axial skeleton.
- The arm bones: the upper arm bone, forearm bones and the 27 bones in each of our hands.
- The leg bones: the thigh bone, lower leg bones, kneecap and the 26 bones we have in each foot.
Let us take a closer look at these different parts of the skeleton: